Cornerstone No. 190, page 11
Robert Kenneth, you are an Ironman!
These were the famous words I heard as I arrived at the finish line of the
Ironman World Championship on 14th October.
I had qualified for this event back in September 2016 when I completed my 12th
Ironman Race. What is an Ironman? It is a long distance triathlon which
comprises a 3.8km swim, 180km bike, and a 42.2km run. All to be completed
in under 17 hour.
The original race was held on 18th February 1978, with 15 competitors. Now
there are nearly 100,000 people taking part in Ironman races throughout the
world, and they all want one thing: to qualify to go to the World Championships
in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii.
Qualifying is the first hurdle, then comes the logistics of getting yourself, your
family who want to come and support, clothes, race kit, and a bike half way
around the word. I am glad to say all the logistics worked with no hiccups.
Arriving 6 days before the race, I had time to soak up the atmosphere and
watch the infrastructure being put in place for the big day. I also had time to
swim, bike and run. To get used to the heat and humidity on the Hawaiian
Islands. All too quickly the race day was on me, there was no more training, no
more worrying, there was nothing I could do — it was my day to take on the
Ironman.
There was what seemed like a lot of waiting about that morning, then the time
for the competitors to enter the water came around. I walked down onto the
very small beach and then stood and waited till about 10 minutes before the
start gun. I did not want to waste any more energy than I had to, by treading
water on the start line. I then slowly entered the water and swam out the back
of the line. And then the start gun sounded.
The swim was very calm despite the photos, and was very relaxed, I knew I
could swim the distance in the time I needed. I just got myself in behind some
other swimmers and let them tow me round the course. It took me 1:20:19 to
finish the swim, and I was back on dry land to change from swim to bike.
Transition is something to rehearse and to prepare mentally so you don’t forget
anything important. Then it was time to pick up my bike and make my way out
onto the bike course.
The names of the streets and villages we passed through on the bike course
were well ingrained in my mind. I had been dreaming of this day since I started
to do triathlon back in 2006. There was not a cloud in the sky and the sun was
now beating down. The column comprised 2,500 competitors as we made our
way from the pier at Kona to the half way point at Hawi. The first bit of the
course was easy and I was soon into my pace. Then at about 1/3 of the way to
Hawi the wind started to blow right into our faces. Unlike the Tour de France,